Grapes, berries, etc.
 

I live in Texas and regardless of my "ranking" I have both read
and participated in this forum for about 6 years now. I respect your
opinions and experiences. I live in North Central Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth), but hunt west about 2 hours from here where it is hotter and drier.

Anyway, I have always been into food plots, planting trees, and so on. I have some questions on grapes, berries, and vines. Honeysuckle-Does it matter what "species", color, or whatever?? Same question for blackberries in the given area I'll be using them?? Grapes-Does it matter whether muscadine, concord, etc.

Also, I know I must protect honeysuckle-I already have the "cages" built. But will they tear grape or berry vines out of the ground without protection. Also, do I have to build something for the grapes & berries to grow on or will they just grow up the nearest tree??

Your experiences and/or opinions are welcomed. Thank you in advance.

RE: Grapes, berries, etc.
 

Tplay103; the grapes will grow up trees but the leaves and fruit will be above the feeding height of the deer. I would suggest planting shrubs like dogwood near the grapes so they have something to grow on closer to the ground. If you plant concord or other varieties rather than wild grapes you'll have some tofeed on too.

Dan O.

RE: Grapes, berries, etc.
 

Thank you so much for responding to my post. That makes a lot
of since about climbing trees and being too high-Didn't think about
that-Duh!

I just didn't know if deer would eat all varieties of honeysuckle,
grapes, and blackberries. I think the japanese honeysuckle is
the common one used for wildlife, but not 100% sure.

Just don't want to invest money on products that won't work.
Thank you once again.

RE: Grapes, berries, etc.
 

Tplay
- Japanese honeysuckle is considered an invasive plant - (seehttp://www.invasive.org/eastern/species/3039.htmland related links). There are native species of honeysuckle (I am not familiar with them, but I have seen them referenced elsewhere) that may not be as aggressive. I have to clean it out of my crabapples and persimmons every few years ("rescue operations").So if you do not have it, be careful with what you're getting into before introducing it.
That being said, it is a preferred winter deer food here in MD. It's pretty easy to see the (honeysuckle) browse line this time of year. Deer tracks in the snow invariably with lead to honeysuckle patches. Deer are especially fond of where the weight of snow has lowered "fresh" clumps ofhoneysuckle to within their reach. I havehundreds of yards ofhedgerows of the stuffthat I maintain (fertilize it in the summer with 19-19-19).The hedgerows arebunny heaven, andsong birds and other wildlife utilizethe cover.
-fsh

RE: Grapes, berries, etc.
 

Once again, thank you for your input. Last year I ordered honeysuckle
from websites that specialize in wildlife, so I didn't pay a lot of attention
to the variety. Everyone warns of how invasive this stuff is. Funny thing
because I dug the "ultimate trench" with awesome soil and did everything
"perfect"-It all died because it couldn't take the Texas heat.

Now that I'm back to square one, I was wondering if I could just buy from
a local nursery. Well, they have many varities, so will deer eat just any
honeysuckle? Does it all have a high protein content?

RE: Grapes, berries, etc.
 

They browse the indigenous honeysuckle here in Indiana , not certain of the variety but it isn't the Japanese kind . Ours has either white or tan colored blossoms and doesn't spread rapidly , and it can take the worst our Summers can dish out . They use it for bedding cover too . Look around your own area for stands of honeysuckle once the weather warms up and air layer some transplants from it .